Blair tells open caucus Canada's marijuana laws are 'failing'

Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice, speaks as a panelist as the Senate Liberals hold an open caucus meeting and panel discussion on the legalization of marijuana on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Bill Blair, who spent a decade as police chief of Canada’s largest city before becoming a Liberal MP and is now leading the charge on marijuana legalization for the party, says that Canada’s approach to the drug has been “failing.”

At a open-caucus panel held by the Senate Liberals, Blair, now parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice, said the country will need a strict sales and distribution system as it moves to draft a new law.

He said it’s “not a benign drug — it has significant risks.” Blair said the new law will need to make sure that it keeps kids safe from harm and “Canadians can consume it safely.”

He said the federal/provincial task force that will consult and examine how to formulate new regulations will “begin as quickly as possible,” but didn’t give a clearer timeline.

Blair said for those with criminal records already, he is “not in a position to make a determination” on what will be done with their records. He said the government will move ahead on the matter “with all due attention” and will “take the time to do it right.”

Following Blair, Jodie Emery, a well known pot activist, made an impassioned plea for amnesty for marijuana users. She said that some two million Canadians since 1965 have received criminal records for possessing marijuana.

She said that the panel would not be talking about legalization today without the “civil disobedience and law breaking across this country” from marijuana activists.

Craig Jones, head of the advocacy group NORML, also asked what the best argument is against immediately putting a ban on pot charges.

Blair responded that “until those laws are repealed by parliament…they should be upheld and enforced.”

Clive Weighill, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said the police community doesn’t know what the full impact of the new law will be, although his association is studying the issue in detail.

“A strong regulatory framework must be developed,” he said.

He said it “would be naive” to believe organized crime will not try to infiltrate the sale of marijuana, and for that reason recommended retail stores for distribution.

Weighill said it’s important for the government to send a strong message right now on dispensaries and that the laws of Canada on marijuana still apply.

“We don’t have a crystal ball into how this [law] is going to look,” he said. “We have to enforce the laws in Canada as they stand right now.”

Dr. Benedikt Fischer of Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, advocated for legalization over decriminalization and said that a strong evaluation framework will be needed to measure the effects as the government moves on changing the law.

“The world is looking to us in terms of this policy change,” he said. “There’s not a lot of evaluation data on this coming world-wide.”

Blair agreed with the point and said the government will need to establish strong baseline data.

“This is a complex issue,” he said.

Representatives from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse recommended consistent regulation across Canada, pointing to young people who take the bridge from Ottawa to Gatineau to take advantage of lower drinking age.

They recommended restricting signage and advertising, childproof packaging, and limiting product formats and potency like edibles that might appeal to youth.